textproduct: Quad Cities

KEY MESSAGES

- Upper low over the Great Lakes Region will keep us under north/northwest flow, ushering cooler and dry air into the region. Below normal temperatures can be expected, with little/no precipitation.

- Pattern slowly breaks down later this weekend and into the next work week, with some return flow working into the region. This will allow temperatures and moisture to increase, with precipitation chances returning to the area.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 240 AM CDT Tue Apr 28 2026

Cold front continues to push east of the area early this morning, keeping us under a cooler post-frontal airmass. We will continue to see influence from the upper wave, with a deck of low stratus slowly pushing east through the morning. Pressure gradient overhead remains modest, keeping gusty winds over the area this morning, especially in our north. By mid-morning, the pressure gradient will start to lighten, causing the gustiness to decrease. Although, a northwest breeze will remain through the day. Temperatures will be a little cooler today, with most in the low-mid 60s. Another weak wave will eject off of the Central Rockies midday, which will pass through this evening/tonight. We are not expecting much precipitation from this, with only Slight Chance PoPs in our southeast. Any precipitation will be light, owing to plenty of dry air to work through. Much of the moisture with this system will be in the mid-upper levels, which will keep clouds overhead through the second half of day and tonight. These clouds will help moderate temperatures tonight, keeping much of the area in the low-mid 40s. We will start to see cloud cover decrease late tonight from west-east, setting the stage for a cooler yet pleasant midweek.

LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/

Issued at 240 AM CDT Tue Apr 28 2026

We will remain under the influence of a broad trof and cutoff upper low over the Great Lakes Region through the remainder of the work week and start of the weekend. Within this pattern, we will see bouts of energy gyrate around the upper low, which bring through bouts of cloud cover and low-end chances for precipitation as the disturbances pass through. LLVL flow will remain lighter and generally out of the north/northwest, keeping us under cool/dry advection. Thus, we will be fighting for moisture as these pass through. Chances for precipitation will remain low (<20% chances), yet non-zero. Much of this will come through as spotty light showers or drizzle, with low QPF. Overall, much of the area should remain dry through this timeframe. With such a pattern in place, temperatures will remain below seasonal norms, with daily max temps gradually decreasing each day. Temperatures will remain in the upper 50s to low 60s, keeping us just a little cooler than we have been seeing, with a breeze.

Sunday and into the start of the new work week, we will see stronger northwest flow work into the north-central CONUS. This will usher in some strong waves, which will finally start to shift the aforementioned upper low east. With this, we will start to see a deeper response from these waves, allowing for some llvl return flow into the region. Thus, we will start to see temperatures increase into the mid/upper 60s to low 70s during this timeframe. Along with increasing temperatures, we will see moisture gradually increase, resulting in increasing chances (20-40%) for precipitation through the start of the new work week.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 1242 PM CDT Tue Apr 28 2026

Latest satellite imagery shows a broken MVFR ceiling lingering over eastern IA. This deck will continue to push eastward this afternoon, allowing for ceilings at MLI and BRL to rise over the next several hours. Winds will remain weak and northwesterly for much of the period as the pressure gradient widens before becoming northerly and gusty towards the end of the period. Some light showers may be possible this evening from 00-06Z, but certainty remains quite low at below 20% for all sites, leading to it not being included at this time.

DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

IA...None. IL...None. MO...None.